Instead, this post is for the man whose torso is as wide or wider than his shoulders. You may have some extra weight around your mid-section, or you may be “built like a fire hydrant” as one reader put it.

Either way, I'll teach you how to dress in a way that flatters the stout body type.

Here's the deal, though: At just 5'6″ (in boots) and 125 lbs (soaking wet), I'm not a stout man. So I don't have personal experience with stout man problems.

But what I do have is lots of data – from you. I've received hundreds of emails from short-and-stout readers, their style pain points in great detail.

The biggest style problem short, stout men face is inconsistent fit. Clothes that fit okay on one part of your body fit terribly everywhere else.

Here are some examples:

Pants that fit around your waist are way too long.

Pants that fit in the seat and thighs are too wide and baggy around your calves and ankles.

Shirts that fit around your stomach are too long to wear untucked.

Shirts that fit up top (neck, shoulders, chest) are too big everywhere else (like the sleeves).

The list goes on, but you get the point. It's a problem of proportion. You can't find anything that really fits and flatters your specific build.

If it's the right length, it's too tight. If it's the right width, it's too long. Story of your life, right?

I'm going to give you three solutions to this problem, but first I want to cover some basic DOs and DON'Ts for the hefty man of modest height.

Shirts & Jackets – Find shirts that fit in the shoulders, neck and chest. Sleeves can be shortened, and the midsection can be taken in. But it's prohibitively difficult and expensive to alter the shoulders.

Pants & Shorts – Find pants that fit in the seat, crotch and thighs. Make sure the rise (distance from the top of the waistband to the bottom of the crotch) is okay.

Pants can be hemmed and tapered by any decent tailor, and adjusting the waist is just as easy. But it's much harder to fix the seat, hips and rise.

Your best strategy is to buy full cut clothes and get them taken in as needed.

#2: Shop Speciality Brands

There are a handful of small apparel companies catering to shorter men. I'm not talking about the “big and tall” section of the department store.

These niche clothiers don't just chop a couple of inches off the bottom of mass manufactured pants and call it a day. They actually create new patterns from scratch with proportions that work for men under 5'9″.

Yes, you have to buy online (for the most part). Yes, it can be more expensive. And yes, it's totally worth it.

#3: Buy Custom Clothing

For dress shirts and suits, you might want to go custom. It's especially important for dress clothes to fit well, and the cost of alterations adds up quickly – especially for suits and jackets.

Whether you visit a bespoke tailor or order from online made-to-measure company, custom clothing requires effort and patience.

But for short, stout men, going custom is one way to achieve proper fit that isn't possible with off the rack clothing.

Opt for normal lapels and neckties (around 3″ wide at their widest point). While we're on the topic, stay away from small tie knots like the four in hand. A half Windsor will look more natural against your neck and chest.

When choosing shirt collars, go for medium spread collars. They'll look great against a thicker neck, especially if you use a hefty tie knot.

Same goes for watches. If you have thick wrists and fingers, wear a watch that has some substance and weight to it. Anything smaller than 40mm might look comically small on your wrist.

Putting It All Together

When you pay attention to details and get everything right, the results are amazing. Here's a little inspiration from some short, stout, stylish men:

About Brock

Founding editor of The Modest Man, Brock is an aspiring minimalist who enjoys working out, spending time with his wife and family, traveling and creating great content. You can follow Brock on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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Comments

Thank you for the excellent and detailed advice, but especially for making your biog more inclusive. Not only are you doing a service to short men who are stout, you are also helping older short men like me who have added extra pounds over the years.

I hate to always be a contrarian here because I do agree with much that is written. Two things. First, if I had that sort of build I would avoid tapered lower legs of any sort. To me they throw the lower body out of proportion. Straight fit is usually the best for the fireplug build, and for most guys really.

In the pictures of the Seinfeld character ( don’t know his name), I don’t think the second picture looks any better than the first. Look at his head. It is big and the tight clothes make it look huge. He looks stuffed into his clothes and a little more fabric would do him well. In truth, the first picture is not great, but I actually prefer it to the second. Tailoring doesn’t always mean close fitting.

I agree with what you are doing Brock, in breaking proper fit for short guys down further. In reality there are so many variables, head size, as I mentioned, is just one example. We can further categorize people by side to side width, front to back, hair style, arm length, proportions of the upper to lower body or a hundred more factors and still we wouldn’t cover everything. There is a gestalt element to fashion that in the end is difficult to break down and systematize. This is why the rules are flexible.

First thing I do when I try something on is to ask myself, “How do I look”, with no reference to any rule about color, fit, placement of any detail, or any rule I know about dressing. Just my first reaction. Then I can start getting into the whys about my reaction and the hows of how to fix it.

Hey Brock, could you do one for short guys with a rather feminine body shape? I’d like to know some tips on not looking so “dainty” and “feminine”. I’ve got narrow shoulders and a fairly large waist/hip area. 34s jacket and 29 pants generally but the hips make it hard for some shirts, etc.

While this one was aimed at the “stocky guy,” I hope you will be covering the short & athletic in the near future. The links that for Peter Everett & Jax are great, but for some of us, their stuff is the right height, but not wide enough. 🙁

Todd Shelton is a menswear brand offering custom sizing and fits and easy ordering. Each garment is made to order in your specific size. They get the proportions right for shorter men. Highly recommend. https://toddshelton.com

Thank you so much for this piece! I’m a lady shopping for her 70+ year old father who has put on a lot of weight and has some age related health issues BUT in his day was stylish. I want to find him some clothing that fits and looks good. I think this might do a great deal for his mental health as when you look good you feel good. I had no idea where to start looking for correctly proportional clothing for him, thank you so much for some great jumping off points.

Thanks for the tips Brock. Being 5’3 and having to buy shirts which are M or L from clothing stores, leaves me really frustrated. Aside from the fact that living in Sweden makes me feel extremely under dressed and not finding the right clothes in stores leaves me extremely flustered. So going by the tone of what is written, I would guess it is almost always wise to go with alterations.

Yet, I am not sure if winter jackets or coats can be altered. Now that it is winter could you give some tips on how to dress up for the winter with regards to coats and jackets?

Nice tips, especially for the pants – when you have wide hips and a big butt AS WELL as being short & stubby, life can seem rough. Although the stores have opened up a wider sortiment lately, it seems. Not everything is for tall and slim guys anymore!
There is a a picture of someoen wearing a striped suit. I agree on why it looks good, but would like to add: the stripes are vertical! It makes a lot of difference, but hard to find a pattern like that.

Any advice on wearing leather? Jacket, but also leather pants. Is it possible?

Great article! I found tips like passing on the smaller ties helpful. The tip of avoiding skinny fit pants while also straying from excess fabric is a winner as well. I find my body type doesn’t get represented well anywhere. I’m short, wide and thick but not chubby/ no belly. The biggest problem is my wide legs. In any modern fit dress pant I usually have to opt for a loose waist fit so that my thighs aren’t stretching seams. It’s either that or get a baggy fit pant that looks terrible.

I appreciate the article – BUT!!!
You refer to 5’8″, as if this was small [not when you’re only 5’3″].
Sushil Sekhar says he is 5’3″, and has to buy shirts that are M or L. He’s fortunate.
5’3″ and 46″ chest/17″ neck is a problem.
My observation/experience is that the genuinely shorter/stouter man has little or no hope of acceptable clothing.